Change of Heart
by EldritchSandwich
Summary: The beginning of my series, originally posted on the World of Code Lyoko forum, in which Sissi joins the Lyoko Gang. Hey, read it before you make that face!


Jeremie was angry. Not at Xana—that would have been too easy. All the fury that gnawed at the pit of his stomach was directed at himself. As he paced through the courtyard, he cursed himself under his breath. He should have known Xana wouldn't let Aelita be materialized. If only he'd tried harder, worked on the materialization program longer, then Aelita would be walking beside him and Lyoko would be shut down forever.

His sulking was interrupted, his emotional pain replaced by the physical kind as the basketball hit him in the back of the head. Groping on the cobbled ground for his glasses, he heard the shrill ring of Sissi's voice as he hoisted himself up off the ground.

"Herb, you idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

His head spinning, Jeremie let his eyes come back into focus to see an enraged Sissi raving wildly at her subdued, pimpled cohort. This was odd—thought Jeremie—Sissi wasn't usually this concerned for him. Then, his head clearing, he began to hear Sissi's scolding words float across the courtyard "...were so close! I can't believe you let yourselves get beaten by a bunch of children! Don't you care about my reputation at all?"

Ah—thought Jeremie—Of course. Sissi still didn't care about him, probably didn't even notice. She was more concerned with the gaggle of snickering boarders who congratulated each other on taking the big kids down a notch. Shaking his head, Jeremie adjusted to another voice—Yumi's.

As she raced across the yard, Yumi cried out to Jeremie, her voice painted with concern. "Jeremie, are you all right? I was over by the science building when I saw you get hit. What happened?"

Jeremie rubbed his head as he spoke. "Oh, just a little reminder that Sissi still cares. Come on, let's go to lunch. Odd and Ulrich are waiting." As the two headed toward the cafeteria, Jeremie noticed Yumi blush at the mention of Ulrich's name. Those two certainly had been acting strange lately...

Jeremie and Yumi entered the cafeteria to see Odd and Ulrich already seated at their usual table, chatting. Upon seeing Yumi, Ulrich stopped in mid-sentence, straightening himself in his chair as his cheeks were brushed with pink. Jeremie noticed. Odd didn't. "Yumi, Jeremie, come here! We saved you a seat." Odd shouted, lifting himself out of his chair and waving his arms, as if flagging down a landing airplane instead of his best friends.

The newly arrived friends sat down, Yumi sliding into the chair beside Ulrich's. Odd and Jeremie immediately began talking about Jeremie's encounter with Sissi's basketball. Yumi and Ulrich didn't. They sat stock still, glancing sidelong at each other, smiling briefly, clearing their throats as if one of them would speak at any moment. Their reverence and Odd and Jeremie's conversation were interrupted as Sissi, still berating a cowed Herb, pushed through the doors of the cafeteria. "You see," said Jeremie, "she didn't even notice. All she cared about was winning so she could keep up her delusions of grandeur."

"A little bitter today, Jeremie?" Yumi intoned, a faint smile in the corner of her mouth.

"Its just...Aelita. I should have been able to bring her out. If I'd only done more..."

"You did all you could, man," offered Ulrich. "Xana's just a sore loser."

"Like someone else we know!" chimed Odd, as their focus drifted back to the pouting pink ego that was Sissi. The ensuing laughter echoed through the small cafeteria. As Sissi shot them hateful glances, her mind was resolved. She had seen the way Yumi and Ulrich had been acting lately. As the group she so desperately wanted to be a part of moved toward the double doors, Sissi decided this might be her last chance at Ulrich. Straightening her skirt, she marched after the exiting group.

"Ulrich, darling." Ulrich spun around to see Sissi, hand planted authoritatively on hip. His hand immediately let go of Yumi's—strange...he hadn't even remembered taking hold of it. "Haven't you forgotten something? Aren't you going to walk me to class?" Yumi rolled her eyes. "What? What are you talking about?" asked a puzzled Ulrich.

"Well, you've been ignoring our little _agreement_ for so long now, I figured you owe me a little quality time."

Ulrich sighed—he'd completely forgotten about his promise to date Sissi for a month. Sometimes he could be such an idiot. Ulrich looked forlornly at Yumi, who just smiled. "Go on, Ulrich, we'll catch up later." Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief. At least Yumi was understanding. Grabbing his hand, Sissi pulled Ulrich toward the main building, as his friends went around to the other side of the campus.

Ulrich walked silently alongside his "girlfriend," arms crossed. It was almost time for math class, but Sissi was making sure the walk to the classroom lasted as long as possible. The longer she was alone with Ulrich, the more time she had to convince him that Yumi wasn't half the girl she was.

"You know, Ulrich, if I were your girlfriend...I mean, your real girlfriend...I wouldn't have just let you walk away with another girl. That really shows how much Yumi cares about you, huh?" Sissi chimed, her voice echoing with glee.

"Yeah, it does," stated Ulrich, "she understands the _sacrifices_ I've made on her behalf."

"I just mean that she seemed a little eager to get rid of you, you know? Are you two bored with each other already?"

"Look, Sissi..." Ulrich's words were cut short as the building trembled around them. Grabbing Ulrich for 'protection,' Sissi screamed. Ulrich's cell phone rang. "Jeremie? What's going on? Is it...you know who?"

Jeremie and Yumi ran toward the park, Jeremie panting into his cell phone as he went. "Do you have to ask? Yumi and I are headed to the factory. Odd went off to get people out of the building."

"I'm afraid I can't help on this one, Jeremie, I'm spending some quality time with my 'girlfriend.'" Ulrich grimaced.

Sissi's mind reeled as Ulrich hung up and dragged her under a covered doorway. Why did so many odd things happen around these four? Ulrich's voice cut through her musings. "Sissi, we have to stay here. The building's unstable. Just trust me on this, okay?"

By the time the second tremor shook the walls and sent chunks of brick showering down around Ulrich and Sissi, Jeremie was already in the control room. As Yumi stepped into her scanner, the foundation of the factory began to shake. "Are you ready, Yumi?" came Jeremie's voice over the intercom.

"We can't afford to wait. Send me in."

Jeremie nodded silently and began the virtualization program. "Transfer—Yumi. Scanner—Yumi. Virtualization."

Odd was having a tough time evacuating the school building—widespread panic and Jim's frantic shrieking didn't exactly help matters. Stumbling through the halls, Odd called for people to follow him—but through the rumbling of the foundations and the screams of panic no one heard. As he ran around a corner, he was bowled over by Naomi running the opposite direction. As he picked himself up, he offered her his hand. "Come on, follow me. We have to get out." panted Odd as he pulled the confused girl to her feet. Smiling, she took his hand and they ran back along the hallway. They were only halfway to the doors when Odd felt the weight of the floorboards give way beneath them.

Yumi was having a comparable degree of success. Aelita was running through the Mountain Region as quickly as possible, the six Cockroaches behind her adding a certain degree of encouragement. When she virtualized, Yumi was able to surprise one, but now she found herself running, Lifepoints rapidly decreasing, making a wild pot shot with her fan whenever she could afford to look behind her. On the last of these shots, she did indeed destroy one of the Monsters. Unfortuantely, she had taken her attention from the data conduit that was suddenly in front of her. As she tripped, she could hear the Monsters' lasers charging.

As he and Sissi ran toward the courtyard, Ulrich's cell phone rang.

"Jeremie?" he panted, still running with Sissi's hand in his.

"Ulrich, I need you at the factory. Yumi's out, and I can't reach Odd. Aelita's got some real competition—I don't know how long she can hold out on her own."

"But, Jeremie, you know I've got Sissi to take care of."

After a long pause, Jeremie uttered the words that, though she didn't know it, would change Sissi's life: "Bring her with you."

By the time they reached the manhole cover in the park, Ulrich had already filled Sissi in on the existence of Lyoko and the threat of Xana. As they descended into the sewers, Sissi bombarded him with questions.

"So that's why you four are always running off in the middle of the day."

"Yeah," grunted Ulrich as he landed on the catwalk that edged the sewer tunnels, "We're off saving the world. Exciting, huh?"

"So then...that's why you and Yumi are together? An office romance?"

"Honestly, Sissi, don't you understand now that there are more important things? If we don't do our job, Xana could destroy the whole town." Ulrich grabbed one of the two remaining skateboards and tossed Sissi the other. "Can you ride one of these?"

"Of course."

"Good." Ulrich sped off toward the ladder to the factory, Sissi scrambling to keep sight of him as she prepared her own board.

Yumi emerged from the scanner panting, her energy drained by her devirtualization. "I'm sorry, Jeremie, I couldn't do any more for her."

"It's all right, Ulrich's on his way and...he's bringing Sissi."

"What? Whose dumb idea was that?"

"Well...uh...mine."

"Jeremie, do you really think she could be of any help to us?"

As Yumi's question lingered on the air, the door to the elevator opened. Sissi gasped in wonder at the control room even as Ulrich pushed her out and began the descent to the scanners. "Jeremie, I'm here, send me in." he shouted as he stepped into a vacant scanner.

"All right, Ulrich, you're headed to the Mountain region. Aelita's pinned down. Hurry!" Jeremie frantically began the virtualization program. "Transfer—Ulrich. Scanner—Ulrich. Virtualization."

Ulrich brushed off the uncomfortable tingling sensation that accompanied virtualization, and regained his composure in time to land feet-first on the misty island where he found himself deposited. "Jeremie, I can't see Aelita—there's too much fog. Where is she?" Ulrich's question was answered as Aelita's melodic "Over here!" drifted throught the soupy mist. Then Ulrich heard the laser fire echoing through the canyon.

When Ulrich was within sight of Aelita, his breath stopped. Not only was she pinned down, but the remaining Cockroaches had been joined by a Megatank. "Jeremie, is there any back way into this valley?" Ulrich panted.

"None. It looks like a box canyon."

Ulrich sighed. He hated the feeling of getting devirtualized. "I can't pull this off on my own. I need backup."

Back in the control room, Jeremie shook his head in frustration. "I was able to contact Odd, but he can't get out of the main building. And Yumi's still too weak to go." As if drawn by a magnet, all eyes, real and virtual, immediately turned to a still-gawking Sissi standing by the elevator door, mouth agape. "I'm sending in Sissi."

Yumi and Ulrich's words of protest were so synchronized as to be heard as only one voice—"Sissi? There's no way she could help!"

"We don't have any other choice." Jeremie spun the control chair around to face the two girls. "Yumi, take Sissi downstairs. Fill her in on the process." As a grumbling Yumi dragged Sissi through the elevator door, Jeremie entered the virtualization command program. Now, what to do for Sissi's virtual form? Jeremie smiled.

By the time Yumi had managed to quell Sissi's objections and made her step into the scanner, Jeremie had already finished her identity. With the last keystroke, he began the virtualization program, and stated five words he never thought he'd hear together: "Transfer—Sissi. Scanner—Sissi. Virtualization."

Sissi liked the feeling of being virtualized. She was still enjoying it when she learned that falling flat on her face from ten feet in the air was an experience she did not like, even in a virtual world. Ulrich, arms folded, looked down at her from the rock he had climbed to get a better view of the canyon. "Well, Jeremie," he scoffed, "I think she's doing well so far." Ulrich hopped down, trying to find the girl in the fog.

When he did, he almost gasped and laughed at the same time. Of course, it made perfect sense—Sissi was devious, ruthless, and never stopped until she got what she wanted—of course she'd be a ninja. The black clad teen stood up, brushing herself off. "You could help, you know, Ulrich."

Ulrich kept his attention focused on Jeremie. "So, what can she do?"

Jeremie's voice sounded almost gleeful. "She has several shuriken she can throw, a lot like Odd's Laser Arrows. She can also turn herself invisible, but it would drain her Lifepoints." Ulrich returned his focus to Sissi, staring around at the foggy wonder that was the Mountain Region.

"Hey," shouted Ulrich, breaking the trance Lyoko held her in, "are you done gawking? We have a virtual damsel in distress down there." Sissi, without a word, flipped out a shuriken and smiled. She had a feeling she was going to like this part.

Within a minute, the plan was in motion. Ulrich leapt down behind the Monsters to draw their fire while an invisible Sissi crept down to Aelita's hiding space. Aelita jumped at the feeling of something touching her shoulder. "What...who are you?" Aelita panted in shock.

"I'm Sissi. I'm new around here. We need to get up this wall before those...uh..."

"Cockroaches," Aelita offered.

"...Cockroaches finish with Ulrich."

Which, as Ulrich frantically parried lasers and dodged 'Tank blasts, seemed more and more likely. When he replicated into three forms, he was able to take out the Megatank and one 'Roach, but his defensive position had been compromised. It was only through great force of will that Ulrich could finish off the last of the 'Roaches before he faded into the quiet blue oblivion that marked the door to the Real World.

Sissi and Aelita ran in the direction of what Sissi could only assume was the 'Tower' Yumi had talked about. The pulsating Tower had just come into sight when Sissi heard Jeremie's voice coming from the air around her. "Sissi, you've got two Hornets coming in behind you."

Sissi looked around frantically. "Two whats?"

Ulrich wrenched the microphone from Jeremie. "Watch the skies!" By the time Sissi had made out the faint thrum of the Hornets' wings, they had already begun to fire. Ulrich shouted into the microphone, "Sissi, this is very important! You have to keep Aelita from getting hit. Attack those things whenever you get a chance!"

Her head swimming with questions, Sissi nodded silently, flipping in front of Aelita just in time to catch a laser blast across the arm. Ignoring the pain as she could, she threw two shuriken, the first hitting one Hornet which, to her surprise, exploded in a small cloud of digital metal. "Wow," thought Sissi aloud, "these things are better than I thought."

Jeremie had finally retireved the mic from Ulrich. "If you hit the eye in the middle, it destroys them immediately. Now watch out, you've only got thirty Lifepoints left. When you reach zero, you'll be devirtualized, and Aelita will be defenseless!" Sissi, however, was already well aware of her situation. She tossed a barrage of shuriken, keeping the Hornet back until Aelita could fade into the rapidly approaching Tower. Then, with a final shot from Sissi, the Monster burst, leaving Sissi, arms folded, accepting the accolades of the 'ground crew.'

Ulrich laughed, slapping Jeremie on the back. "She did it. I never would have thought."

Yumi smiled. "Yeah, she's almost worth keeping around."

Jeremie shifted nervously in his chair. "I'm glad you feel that way because...she's going to remember."

Yumi's smile faded. "What? What gives you the right to make that decision for us?"

"It's not a decision, Yumi. She's in Lyoko, so she's immune to the effects of the time wipe in the real world. Are you ready, Aelita?"

Aelita smiled as she ascended to the second level of the Tower. She input her handstamp just as she had done countless times before. AELITA...CODE...LYOKO. As the world faded to white, Sissi wondered what they were talking about.

Jeremie walked along the courtyard, but he wasn't angry anymore. They'd made a new ally in the fight against Xana. Jeremie was so lost in congratualing himself that he forgot to duck this time. As the basketball skittered away, he heard just what he'd heard yesterday—"Jeremie, are you all right?"

But something was wrong—the voice was too high-pitched. As Sissi grabbed his arm and pulled him up, Jeremie smiled. "Is this what you guys were talking about yesterday...err...today?" Sissi inquired. Jeremie nodded. "Well, this certainly explains a lot." The sound of Yumi's footsteps pounding across the yard interrupted, and Sissi returned to her posse.

"Forgot about that, huh?" Yumi chimed in.

Jeremie rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. But at least we got a reminder of how much Sissi cares."

In the cafeteria, Odd, Ulrich, Jeremie and Yumi were discussing Sissi. Sissi was ignoring Herb's attempts to apoligize for losing the game. As the Gang walked toward the doors, Sissi jumped up to follow. As Ulrich heard her voice ring out, he dropped Yumi's hand. Strange—he hadn't remembered taking hold this time, either. Sissi strode up, hips swaying. "Ulrich, about our little arrangement..." Ulirich's lips tightened as she spoke... "...consider it cancelled." Ulrich smiled and, without trying, his hand slipped effortlessly back into Yumi's.

Odd broke the silence. "Oh, get over here."

Yumi piped up then, "Oh, Odd, I meant to ask, how'd it go with you and Naomi in that cave-in?" Odd blushed. Everyone laughed. Even Sissi.

And as the five defenders of the Earth walked off toward the park, they knew nothing would ever be the same again.


End file.
